WAAS Gallery , Ethos Gallery and Eddie Donaldson present a uniquely distinctive conscious art experience curated specifically for the city of Dallas. “Collect Respect” is a twofold exhibition featuring artwork from a talented group of highly respected artists coupled with an available selection of carefully collected treasures from the past that have been creatively transformed into contemporary works of art.

We live in fast moving times where change is the only constant. New ideas quickly become passe as our external environment constantly shifts. Once necessary items rapidly become obsolete as we are forced to chase after the latest gadgets, adopt modernized systems and embrace new ways of communicating. “ Real” has become obscure, as “virtual” takes a seat on the throne of our destiny. It is impossible to keep up, and even harder to win a race that has no finish line. So for now, we will stop running. We will collect our thoughts and respect where we are in the stream of time and consciousness. By listening to the voices of the artists of the day and celebrating the compassionate souls who skillfully turn “trash into treasure”, we bring together the past and present, paving a way into the future.

Collect Respect is an exclusive art show offering new works from some of the greatest, most respected names in the graffiti, street art, and fine art genres. Select artists, both local and international, will showcase original works on recycled items from the city of Dallas.

EDDIE DONALDSON

Art heavyweight and marketing mogul Eddie Donaldson brings over 20 years of experience from graffiti to the gallery. He possesses a unique ability to move between markets by having built a strong foundation of street credibility in the graffiti culture before moving on to greater success managing major art-related campaigns for corporate clients like Red Bull, Disney and Scion. Donaldson currently curates at various galleries in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and now Dallas carrying with him the belief that art raises the bar in every city and creates revenue streams for local business.

ETHOS GALLERY

Ethos was established in Los Angeles in 2012 by founder/ curator Lisa Falcone. It began with a dream to elevate the world with art by creating an enlightened space revolving around consciousness and caring. Ethos is a place where artists and collectors connect on a higher level and build within a platform of positivity. Ethos Gallery actively participates in several projects aimed at citywide beautification, healing the planet, and positive messaging. By aligning with uplifting artwork like Mr. Brainwash’s “Life is Beautiful” and creative teams like Canlove who care for the Earth by making art from recycled items, we believe that we can raise the vibration in our local communities, and ultimately, the world.

Exhibited Artists

APEX

APEX (b. 1978, San Francisco, CA), also known as Ricardo Richey, is a street artist who creates colorful abstract patterns through the use of spray paint. Part of the Gestalt Collective that engages in collaborative murals in San Francisco, Apex curated mural projects on Bluxome Alley, other districts of San Francisco, and the SFMOMA display windows in association with St. Johns Community Center (San Francisco, 2002). His work has been shown extensively both in the Bay Area and abroad. Recent group exhibitions includeCalligraffiti: Writing in Contemporary Chinese and Latino Art, Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA (2009); Bay Area Now 4, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (2005), White Walls, and the Luggage Store Gallery. He was the artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2007), and was featured in documentaries and publications regarding the Mission District in San Francisco. (via website)

BRIAN GIBB

A skilled graphic designer, Brian Gibb is the owner of Dallas’s The Public Trust gallery. In 2003, Brian co-founded the publication Art Prostitute, which in turn begot a gallery of the same name. A shift to the current location in Deep Ellum fathered likewise change to the current name, with the whole endeavor allowing Gibb to promote artists big and small. He has previously shown at the WAAS Gallery, having contributed to the PRINT THISexhibition, and is a strong contributor to the Dallas art scene.

CANLOVE

CANLOVE is the collaborative alias of American artists DJ Neff and Paul Ramirez. Currently, they collect discarded spray paint cans and process them into works of art at their creative studio, ChalkLA, located in Venice, California. (via website.)

CRYPTIK

The Cryptik Movement is a public art campaign dedicated to helping humanity evolve towards greater awareness and understanding through the use of compelling, iconic imagery that demands both scrutiny and reverie. The purpose of this organization is to facilitate the development of a deeper, more meaningful philosophy of life. (Paraphrased from website.)

GREGORY SIFF

Artist Gregory Siff’s distinct emotionalism style merges unique elements of abstraction, pop, and street. His technique coalesces the voice of a fearless child with the wisdom of a seasoned warrior. Gregory has become one of the most prolific and exciting forces in the Los Angeles contemporary art scene. Most recently Siff’s work is included in the Museum of Modern Art PS1 exhibition Rockaway! to celebrate the ongoing post-Superstorm Sandy Recovery. The show, curated by MoMA PS1′s director, Klaus Biesenbach along with Patti Smith and the Honolulu Biennial, includes the “Experience Rooms” which Gregory painted in the Rockaway Beach Surf Club bathrooms alongside works by Marina Abramović and Tom Sachs. (via website.)

HATZIEL FLORES

At age 14 he started to look for another outlet of creativity He got introduce into the Hip Hop culture and started to get involved with Graffiti. This became an extremely important element for him. Graffiti has helped him express himself through his art in a more freely manner, He became acquainted with different kinds of art mediums and started to evolve his visions. Today he incorporates the Urban Techniques to a Surreal art form, giving him a finished product of an edgy Modern Surrealism. (via website.)

HIT+RUN

Leading the world in live screenprinting, HIT+RUN was created in 2005 by Brandy Flower and Mike Crivello. Born from small screen-printing parties in their homes, their events grew quickly, and now the HIT+RUN Crew can be found at acclaimed events such as Art Basel, Coachella and SXSW.

JAMES HAUNT

James Haunt is told to be the creative fusion of founder, James Gillette, and his alter ego, Haunt. Previous accomplishments include being the first artist to paint a mural on the famous Roxy Theatre on the Sunset Strip, being the first spotlighted artist to paint multiple features on the 2012 X-Games Street course, and collaborating with high-profile brands such as PacSun, Red Bull, Zumiez and JSVL.

JIM EVANS / “TAZ”

Artist Jim Evans learned his trade in the San Francisco underground scene. He has illustrated comics, rock and film posters, dozens of album covers, and numerous advertising and magazine illustrations, in addition to exhibiting in fine art gallery shows. Jim is also the founder of the T.A.Z. collaboration, which created hundreds of gig posters, record sleeves, and rock ephemera. Jim has become one of the foremost award winning media artists, and his work has been collected, exhibited, and disseminated worldwide. (via website.)

JMR

JM Rizzi, or better known as JMR, has adapted a unique mixture of neo-abstract expressionism with hints of contemporary pop to create a style all is own. Originally hailing from Brooklyn, New York, JMR has grown up with the influences of street art and the established art world constantly around him. Through his own individual, hybrid street style, he has dedicated himself to helping art fit into the outside world. (via website.)

JOHN PARK

An artist and teacher based in L.A., John Park was clasically trained at RISD, assisting in his current practice of reconciling traditional techniques with Pop Surrealist influences.

THE LONDON POLICE

In their own words, “The London Police started in 1998 when big English geezers headed to Amsterdam to rejuvenate the visually disappointing streets of the drug capital of the world”. Creating immense, character-driven work that cover streets across the world, TLP has been celebrating street art for over over a decade.

KATE FIRTH

With investigations into architecture, street art and androgyny, Kate Firth’s sculptures are quickly ascending within the Dallas art scene. WAAS Gallery is proud to represent her work, and invite you to learn more about her on her page.

MEAR ONE

MEAR ONE (Kalen Ockerman) has been at the forefront of LA’s graffiti and mural culture for nearly three decades. He is famous for having pioneered the Melrose graffiti art movement in the late 80s and is considered by many to be LA’s most prolific public muralist.

MICHAEL DELAHAUT / “WISE”

A tremendously prolific art director, designer, illustrator and graffiti artist, WISE has played a vital role in award-winning design work and the growth and history of the graffiti art world.

MQ

MQ started painting graffiti in New York in the mid ’80s. He is also known as MQUE or MQIZM. MQ has earned himself legendary status for his relentless painting. Around the world you can see his colossal throw-ups, gigantic block letters and subliminal tags. Today MQ’s work is geared towards making posters, paintings and metal stickers. His art works are multi-layered, often combining stickers and reflective vinyl with abstract shapes and subliminal writing. His core palette of silver and black with elements of graffiti makes his works easily identifiable. His work is fresh, innovative and constantly evolving.

PATRICIA RODRIQUEZ

Patricia Rodriguez is a native of Oak Cliff, Texas (1976) and has been making art and music for over twenty years. She currently works as a freelance artist, muralist and arts and culture advocate for “Mercado Bilingue” a monthly printed publication. Her mural portfolio includes work for the prestigious project with EYECON MURALS and MARY KAY to create the largest artwork made solely from makeup and now a GUINNESS WORLD RECORD holder.Patricia studied Painting and Design at Mountain View College after graduating from Booker T. Washington (Arts Magnet) and has since shown at the Dallas Museum of Art, where she previously worked, as well as various galleries and venues around Texas, most notably a solo show at Gravelmouth Gallery (voted one of the best galleries in San Antonio 2014), a solo show at Baylor Sciences Library, WAAS Gallery, Luminarte Gallery, Start Gallery Dallas, Rising Gallery as well as many others (please see site for full list). She just closed joint exhibition with artist SONER at Kirk Hopper Fine Arts Gallery and has been featured on Good Morning Texas, CBS local and is currently in the June 2014 issue of national magazine Latino Leaders and is also a featured artist in Studio Visit Magazine, sister publication to New American Paintings.

Patricia Rodriguez approach to painting is part traditional and part street graphic, applying traditional painting onto spray painted canvas to form “natural graffiti” devoid of words but utilizing botanical symbols and highly saturated of organic layered designs to create her scrawl.

PLASTIC JESUS

Plastic Jesus is a Los Angeles based street artist that specialises in bold stencil and installation work, inspired by world news events, society, the urban environment, culture and politics. His work combines humour, irony, criticism and unique opinion to create art that engages on many levels.

In early 2013 one of his pieces “No more heroes” featuring disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong connected to an IV drip caught the world’s attention and was featured by many media organisations including CNN, the BBC, The Daily Mail, Huffington post and LA Weekly. Many other pieces have gone viral on the internet and news media including his August 2013 “Best Buys Useless Plastic Box 1.2″. (via his website.)

ROLLAND BERRY

Eyecon / Color / Revolution: the themes in Rolland Berry’s work come straight out of the LA street art scene. As a painter, Rolland Berry mixes his unique world view with motifs from the counter-culturism born out of the 60s and 70s to create his “Colur” art, through which he conveys an edgy message aimed at today’s superficial society about the loss of individual identity in the digital era. (via website.)

SEBASTIEN WALKER

SLICK

SLICK came onto the scene from Hawaii and blew everybody’s minds with his revolutionary approach to painting characters. He did a lot for graffiti during that era and had a tremendous impact. His awesome collaborations with RISK and the legendary battles with HEX are graffiti milestones.

SOBER

A San Antonio-based graffiti artist WAAS Gallery welcomes to the crowd of successful artists.

SONER

Comprised of letters, curves and line-work that echo calligraphy, graffiti and graphic design, the work of SONER is expertly produced. With a quarter of a century of hip hop culture and numerous years of graffiti and design, SONER is a versatile artist that has collaborated with major brands such as Ford, Sony and Passionata.

SOUR GRAPES

A graffiti/artist collective born and based in Dallas, Sour Grapes has been active since 2000. Their inspirations range from fine art to street culture, including the Renaissance, Chuck Close, hip hop culture, Cy Twombly, and El Mac. A mix of self-taught and trained artists the work of the Sour Grapes collective can be found in both streets and galleries.

THE RESTITUTION PRESS

AKA “Ryan Graeff”, Restitution Press is renowned for his incredible screen-printing prowess, re-contextualizing and juxtaposing recognizable imagery with an incredible attention to detail. His works are bright and chromatic, reflecting an ideal of American pop imagery.